Turkish court releases two pro-Kurdish terror suspects

A Turkish court in southeastern Diyarbakir province ordered the release of two former pro-Kurdish deputies, convicted in relation to Kurdistan Community Union (KCK) trial, an umbrella organization of the terrorist group PKK, Anadolu Agency reported.

The court decided to release Hatip Dicle and Husamettin Cicek, two former deputies of now-defunct Democracy Party, which was banned by the Constitutional Court in 2002.

There are 175 defendants in Turkey's ongoing Kurdistan Community Union trial which targeted pro-Kurdish journalists, activists and politicians under the country's anti-terror laws.

The government accused the umbrella group of having links with the PKK, a militant separatist group regarded as a 'terrorist organization' by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

Last month, a Turkish court in the southeastern province of Batman released ten other suspects who had been arrested upon links with the umbrella group.